


there's an alternate reality, where it's only you and me

by thethirdphiladelphiavireo



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Beanie's, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, No Apocalypse, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, they make it to california in this universe okay???? okay, this is basically a paulkins high school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23183479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thethirdphiladelphiavireo/pseuds/thethirdphiladelphiavireo
Summary: Ethan, the new kid at Sycamore High, is stuck hanging out with his cousin Oliver on a Saturday evening. Sensing his bad mood, Oliver decides to take Ethan to a place that's better than Starbucks. If only for the barista working that day.
Relationships: Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	there's an alternate reality, where it's only you and me

It was Saturday evening in Hatchetfield. A cool breeze had just begun to pick up, rushing through branches and leaves and murmuring softly through the streets.The sun was peeking out of a thin veil of misty clouds. Ship’s bells and seagull cries echoed out over the water of the lake while its cold waves lapped at the rough, wooden posts of a pier. 

Two teenage boys were standing on that pier. One, a boy with glasses, was squatting close to the edge, phone in his hands, eagerly snapping pictures of the setting sun and the vibrant pink glow it was casting on the soft lake water. The other, clad in a leather jacket and wearing a pair of silver earrings, stood a little farther back, tapping his foot on the creaking wood planks and checking the time periodically. 

“I bet Grace’ll like these,” the boy with glasses muttered, straightening up and studying his screen. 

“Are you finally done?” the other boy asked. “It’s getting cold out”. He stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket for emphasis.

“Sorry Ethan, almost!”

Ethan rolled his eyes and looked at the dim sky. Hanging out with his cousin Oliver wasn’t exactly up to his usual speed. A couple of months ago, he would’ve spent his weekends lighting up with the seniors at Hatchetfield High, staying out until the sun rose and counting on his parents being too busy being at each other’s throats to notice or care. He definitely wouldn’t have been meandering through Hachetfield’s marina, watching the silhouettes of boats drift across the bright horizon.

“There! That’s perfect!”

Ethan looked up and watched as Oliver walked back towards him from the pier’s edge. 

“Alright, let’s go.”

Fucking finally. They’d been taking pictures here for ages. Ethan had had half the mind to leave Oliver behind, if only Oliver wasn’t the only one of the two of them with a car. 

Ethan’s car? Well, that was something that his mom had kept in the divorce. She’d been more interested in keeping that piece of shit than she’d been in keeping her son around—that was why Ethan was even bothering to talk to Oliver in the first place. His dad had moved across town and taken Ethan with him, forcing his son to transfer to Sycamore High with no car, no friends, and nothing to do anymore. The only person Ethan knew at Sycamore was, unfortunately, his cousin Oliver, and that wasn’t doing any favors for his reputation there. No one liked to get stuck hanging with a nerdy prude. 

“Alright, what should we do now?” Oliver asked as he buckled his seat belt.

Ethan shrugged, scowling. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, digging around the other for his lighter.

“C’mon Ethan, you know you can’t smoke in here! My parents will kill me!” Oliver squeaked. 

“Fine, fine. I won’t.”

Oliver turned the key in the ignition and checked his mirrors, getting ready to pull out of the parking lot. “Seriously, though, where do you think we should go?”

Ethan shrunk into his jacket, breathing out through his nose. Christ, did this kid  _ talk _ .

“... I mean, it’s still light out, kinda, and my curfew’s not until ten. There’s got to be something we can do to kill time. Maybe we can go grab a few more pictures before the sun sets by the mall, or we could—”

“Oliver, I don’t care,” Ethan snapped. “Just make up your own mind and do what you want.”

Oliver stopped talking. He looked at Ethan, and then turned his eyes back to the road. Ethan could see his grip tighten on the steering wheel, his fingers shifting and his knuckles whitening. 

Ethan felt a twinge of guilt shoot through his chest. For all his quirks, photos and rambling about Grace Chastity, this was his _ baby cousin _ . His cousin who he’d stood up for on playgrounds, who he’d gotten in his first fight for back in elementary school, who’d nervously handed him Christmas presents every year for as long as Ethan could remember. 

Ethan carded his fingers through his hair. “Sorry,” he ground out, deliberately looking away from Oliver. “I’m just a little… tired, is all. Didn’t mean to…” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely in the air.

“Yeah,” Oliver said. “I get it.”

“How about we grab some coffee or something? And we could, I dunno…” Ethan racked his brain for some ideas. “Hang out, watch a movie? Didn’t your parents, like, just get Hulu or something?”

“Disney Plus.”

“Yeah, that. Let’s hit the Starbucks down the street and stay up watching movies or whatever.”

Ethan saw a grin spread across Oliver’s face. Caffeine and staying up late, all in one night? This was probably as close to “rebellious” as Oliver got. But, hey. Ethan would take what he could get.

"Well, actually, Ethan,” Oliver began, taking a right onto an empty street. “If you want to grab coffee, I can think of a place you’d like more than Starbucks.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What place?”

“It’s just a block away, a little place called Beanie’s.”

“What’s so special about this “Beanie’s”?”

“You’ll see.” There was a mischievous glint in Oliver’s eye that Ethan rarely saw. 

Ethan narrowed his eyes, tempted to call Oliver on his weird answer. Ultimately, he just slumped against the window and looked out at the passing traffic. “I guess I will.”

Five minutes later, the two pulled up to a dusty-looking brick building with a plain sign that read “Beanie’s”. Ethan must’ve passed it a million times throughout his life but never really registered it—it was just that forgettable. He turned and looked at Oliver. “This is the place?”

“Yep.”

“... Alright.”

The two of them got out of the car and walked towards the drab building. Oliver skipped up the sidewalk and opened the door while Ethan sauntered up behind him.

Ethan had barely entered the shop when he suddenly stood up ramrod straight, sharply inhaling.

There, leaning over the counter, casually looking at her nails, was Lex Foster. 

Ethan realized what Oliver’s smile had meant. He stared daggers into the back of his cousin’s head, wishing he could wrangle him in his arms and force him back out to the car, but Oliver was already almost at the counter.

“Hi Lex!”

Ethan could practically hear the smug grin on Oliver’s face.

“Oh, hey, Oliver. And Ethan,” Lex added as she saw the other boy walk up and stop just behind his cousin.

“Hey,” Ethan said, sweating. Play it cool, man. 

“Can I get you guys anything?”

“Sure,” said Oliver. “I’ll have…”

As Oliver dove into his absurdly long and sugary order, Ethan did his best to not stare. But, God, was it hard. His gaze trailed from the counter her hands were resting on, to the forest green apron she was wearing, to her fingers tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, to her dark eyes—eyes that were trained on Oliver as he recited his order, but which Ethan could’ve sworn darted to his face for a split-second before repositioning themselves. Ethan quickly looked down at his own crossed arms, and could already feel himself flushing at the thought that he might’ve been caught. 

As he meticulously examined his leather jacket, he happened to look at his bare, ungloved hand, in contrast to the glove he wore on his other. It reminded him of when he’d lost its other half—and of when he’d first met Lex. 

_ It was his first week at Sycamore High, and it was time for shop class. Shop class he had with Oliver. _

_ "It’s so cool we have a class together,” Oliver gushed on the way to the classroom. “I almost never have any of my friends in my classes.” _

_ “Uh huh,” Ethan muttered, shifting his bag on his shoulders. As the two of them walked down the hall together, it was almost as if he could feel the weight of the other students’ gaze on him. The new kid hanging around Oliver Green? Why? _

_ It was when they’d already taken their seats and settled in a little when she walked in, and Ethan’s breath was taken away for the first of many times.  _

_ She was beautiful. _

_ Her gait was effortless and casual, but at the same time poised and controlled. Even as she slumped into a seat, Ethan could see a tension in her like a compressed spring, ready to release at a moment’s notice. Though her expression was neutral, her hawk-like eyes scanned the room, and finally zeroed in on him. The new kid. Ethan quickly looked away, pretending to look for something in his bag, and when he looked back up, her gaze had moved away from him.  _

_ "Alright, class.” The teacher, Mr. Houston picked up a couple loose screws off the floor. “Today, we’ll be…” _

_ Ethan didn’t hear much of what Mr. Houston was saying. For some reason, he couldn’t take his attention off of this one girl across the room.  _

_ He elbowed Oliver. “Hey. Who’s that?” he hissed, subtly gesturing towards the girl. _

_ Oliver craned his head over Ethan’s shoulder. “Oh, that’s Lex. She’s nice.” He studied Ethan’s face carefully. “Why?” _

_ “No reason,” Ethan said, as smoothly as he could. “Just, uh. Like her jacket is all.” _

_ From the way Oliver kept shooting him and Lex looks while Mr. Houston gave the class some instructions for the day, Ethan wasn’t sure if he bought it. _

_ Later, Ethan really wished he and Oliver had paid more attention during the beginning of class. _

_ Mr. Houston had just stepped out for a moment to deal with some kind of situation when Ethan, who’d been enlisted by Oliver to help with something or other, yelled out in pain. The rest of the class, shocked, whirled around to see Oliver, hysterical, fussing at Ethan’s hand while Ethan hissed in pain and clutched it to his chest. A few blood drops fell and splattered on the floor below while the other students looked on in horror.  _

_ “I’m going to get a teacher!” Oliver exclaimed before rushing out of the room.  _

_ In the silent moments that followed, no one moved a muscle to help. The class stared at one another in confusion, content to wait for Mr. Houston’s return.  _

_ "Jesus Christ. I’m getting the first aid kit.” It was Lex who finally stood up and marched to the front of the room, rifling through the classroom’s cluttered shelves. “There we go, found it! New kid, get over here.” _

_ Ethan wordlessly shuffled over to where she’d set the kit up on an empty desk and started to rummage through its contents.  _

_ “Give me your hand.” _

_ Ethan held it up. Lex took it in her own, gently turning it so she could have a better look. Ethan stood stock-still as she examined it, watching her every move. A strand of her hair fell in her face and Ethan thought about how easy it would be to reach out and put it in place with his free hand— _

_Whoa_ _ Ethan. No Ethan. You just met this girl.  _

_ But when she looked up at him, oh-so-close to him and he looked into her deep brown eyes, he felt warmth through his body, warmth like he’d known her forever, warmth as if, deep down, they were the same, identical, two halves of the same beating, pulsing heart that had been searching for each other all along— _

_ Or maybe that was the teenage hormones talking.  _

_ “You’re lucky.” _

_ "Huh?” _

_ "You’re lucky you were wearing this glove,” she explained, her thumb running over its torn edge. “If you hadn’t had it on this would’ve been a lot worse.” _

_ “Oh.” His brow furrowed. “Too bad it’s ruined now, though.” _

_ “Better than you needing stitches. As is, I think you should be okay. We just need to clean it and bandage it up.” _

_ Ethan swallowed. “Sounds good.” _

_ Ethan did his best to put on his bravest face. He felt like a little kid again, trying to act tough for the school nurse. He gritted his teeth through the pain of the alcohol swabbing and the sting of the bandages being pulled tight around his palm. As for the bloody, torn glove that had sacrificed itself for him? Well, that was tucked away in his pocket.  _

_ By the time Mr. Houston was back in the room, the carnage was all but gone.  _

_ "Thanks, Lex,” Ethan said, smiling what he hoped was a totally-normal-friendly smile. _

_ “How do you know my name, new kid?” she immediately fired back, without skipping a beat.  _

_ “Uh….” _

_ Before Ethan could think of an excuse, the bell rang and their conversation was over.  _

_ Somehow, though, even after the fiasco of their first meeting, Lex and Ethan were on their way becoming… Friends? She certainly didn’t  _ dislike _ him. Oliver was right—she was nice, and she’d even taken to sitting with the two of them during shop class. Sure, that was the only time they ever spent together, but, for Ethan, that time was everything. It was the highlight of his week, getting to see her smile wryly at his dumb jokes, getting to look into those eyes, getting a shiver down his spine whenever their arms brushed…  _

“Ethan? Ethan?”

Ethan blinked and his gaze focused on Lex’s face in front of him, looking up expectantly.

“Yeah?”

“What do you want?”

“Oh. Uh,” Ethan cursed himself for not thinking about this earlier. “I’m good.”   


“Huh? But Ethan, we came here because you wanted—”

“I’m good,” Ethan repeated himself. 

“... Okay,” Lex started, ringing Oliver up. “Then I guess I’ll make this drink and you two can be on your way.” 

She walked away from the counter and Oliver turned to Ethan. “I need to use the restroom. Wait here.”

Ethan nodded vacantly, eyes firmly fixed on the tile floor. 

A couple silent, excruciating moments passed by. All Ethan could hear was the sounds of Lex making Oliver’s coffee and the faint ticking of a clock somewhere that he couldn’t see. He tapped his foot in time to the sound, face still burning from embarrassment. And then—

“Hey, coffee’s ready.”

Ethan looked up and walked forward, taking the cup from her hand. Their fingers did  _ not  _ brush, and he tried not to feel disappointed.

Then, it was silence again. Silence as Ethan tried to think of something, anything to say, just say something, goddammit—

"So, how are you liking Sycamore?”

They locked eyes again. Ethan paused, thought, and shrugged. “Eh. Hard to say. I’m not really sure what to think of everybody else. It's kind of weird, having to come in the middle of high school. Tough to get to know anyone.”

Lex nodded. “Because everyone already knows each other?”

“Exactly,” Ethan smiled. “The only people looking to make friends with a new guy like me are the assholes nobody else wants to deal with.” 

“Hey,” Lex mock gasped, her eyes crinkling. “For your information, I am not an asshole, okay? I am a lady. I am a bitch.” Her voice dipped into a strange, joking accent, like she was impersonating that socialite woman that everyone in Hatchetfield had had to deal with at some point or another. What was her name? Lucy Monroe? Lucy Madison?

“But you admit you’re trying to be my friend?”

“... I said nothing of the sort.”

The two fell silent again. They were still looking at one another, holding a long gaze, but it wasn’t awkward at all this time. They were both smiling softly, leaning slightly on the counter that divided them. The clock in the background was the only sound now. It felt like it was steadily keeping time with Ethan’s heartbeat. Thump. Tick. Thump. Tock.

Was it Ethan’s imagination, or was there something different, something softer about the way she was looking at him than usual? 

“Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?” she asked.

Ethan ducked his head. “Maybe. I don’t wanna brag,” he mumbled, still smiling widely. 

Lex rolled her eyes as she grinned back. “I shouldn’t have said anything. You’re going to get an even bigger ego on you now than you already had.”

The two chuckled. 

“I’m back!”

Ethan and Lex both jumped and straightened at the sound of Oliver’s voice as he rounded the corner. He took the drink from Ethan’s hand while giving Lex a little salute. “Thank you ma’am!”

“Don’t mention it,” Lex said. “I’ll see you two around?” She said it like it was a question, looking straight at Ethan. Ethan felt that warmth again, that warmth from when he’d first met her, and he beamed and nodded. 

He and Oliver turned and walked away. Ethan was just a few steps away from the door when he heard Lex behind him: “Hey, Ethan, wait up!”

The two paused. Oliver glanced at Ethan and grinned. “I’ll meet you in the car.” He turned and skipped away, out of the shop.

Ethan watched him go, then faced Lex, who had left the counter and was standing just a couple of feet away. “What’s up?”

Lex, who was redder and whose motions were more timid than Ethan had ever seen, thrust her hand out. In it was a crumpled napkin with some hastily scrawled writing on it. Ethan took it.

“My… My number,” she explained. “You know, in case you want to hang out. Outside of class,” she added. 

“Oh,” Ethan said. He tucked it into his pocket. “Thanks. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

A couple beats passed where the two didn’t move, until Lex took the plunge. She stepped forward hesitantly and rose on her toes, planting a quick kiss on Ethan’s cheek, just barely missing his lips. Then, she whirled around and marched back to the counter. “See you then!” she called behind her shoulder.

“... Yep. See you then,” Ethan croaked, echoing her, almost unable to believe what had just happened. He turned and fumbled his way out of the shop.

When he was back in the car, smiling and red and breathless, all Oliver said was, “Told you you’d like it better than Starbucks.”

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me rising from the dead after a year of not writing anything to write another starkid fanfic. i can't help it, they're too cute and they deserved a happy ending :(


End file.
